Generally there exists a variety of different stacked assemblies and structures in the context of electronics and electronic products.
The motivation behind the integration of electronics and related products may be as diverse as the related use contexts. Relatively often size savings, weight savings, cost savings, or just efficient integration of components is sought for when the resulting solution ultimately exhibits a multilayer nature. In turn, the associated use scenarios may relate to product packages or food casings, visual design of device housings, wearable electronics, personal electronic devices, displays, detectors or sensors, vehicle interiors, antennae, labels, vehicle electronics, etc.
Electronics such as electronic components, ICs (integrated circuit), and conductors, may be generally provided onto a substrate element by a plurality of different techniques. For example, ready-made electronics such as various surface mount devices (SMD) may be mounted on a substrate surface that ultimately forms an inner or outer interface layer of a multilayer structure. Additionally, technologies falling under the term “printed electronics” may be applied to actually produce electronics directly and additively to the associated substrate. The term “printed” refers in this context to various printing techniques capable of producing electronics/electrical elements from the printed matter, including but not limited to screen printing, flexography, and inkjet printing, through a substantially additive printing process. The used substrates may be flexible and printed materials organic, which is however, not necessarily always the case.
When a multilayer structure is loaded with various electronics, it may not always function completely in isolation, i.e. autonomously. Instead, various power, data and/or control connections may have to be provided, or are at least preferably provided, e.g. occasionally upon particular need, thereto, which typically requires provision of electrical connectors and related wiring even though also wireless connections may be applicable as well.
Commonly, the wired electrical connections between the environment and the embedded electronics of a stacked multilayer structure are provided at a side edge of the structure so that the necessary external wiring is brought into contact with a connector or other contact element that is located at, and potentially protrudes out from, the structure at a periphery thereof. However, in many use scenarios such configuration of connectors and external wiring is sub-optimum, because it easily puts additional constraints on the dimensioning and positioning of related host structures and components, not forgetting the features and manufacturing of the multilayer structure itself.